Journalists
camp at airport waiting for Mugabe arrival

Dozens of journalists camped at the Harare International
Airport on Wednesday waiting for the expected arrival of Robert Mugabe. The
88 year snuck out of the country for Singapore eleven days ago, sparking
days of frenetic speculation about his health and reports that he was on his
‘deathbed’.

Information Minister Webster Shamu summoned editors and
journalists from both the state and private media and told them to stand by
as Mugabe would be arriving at the airport at 9am in the morning. But by 6pm
Mugabe had still not arrived, with suggestions from other sources that he
would now be arriving in the early hours of the following
morning.

Another source in the President’s Office told SW Radio Africa
that Mugabe was expected “some time in the evening”.

We have heard
that Mugabe did have an ‘episode’ that was not life threatening. The
suggestion was that he was rushed to Singapore after suffering some sort of
collapse.

A report by The Zimbabwe Mail website claiming that Mugabe was
on his “deathbed” and “undergoing intensive treatment in Singapore” torched
off international headlines that Mugabe was ‘battling for his life’. But
ZANU PF officials denied reports Mugabe was battling for his life at a
hospital in Singapore.

Misheck Sibanda, the chief secretary to the
Cabinet, was quoted as saying that Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting had been moved
to Thursday when Mugabe would be back in the country. MDC-T Ministers who
spoke to SW Radio Africa also said they were told Mugabe would definitely be
chairing Thursday’s cabinet meeting.

Mugabe left suddenly for
Singapore on the 31st March. The official line was that he was going there
to make study arrangements for his daughter Bona. When he failed to return
on time, missing two consecutive Tuesday cabinet meetings and an important
ZANU PF politburo meeting, speculation turned to his health.

A ZANU
PF politburo member, believed to be Jonathan Moyo, is quoted saying Mugabe
was enjoying an Easter break with his family in Asia. “The President is on
his Easter holidays, like everyone else. He returns to his post this week,
at the same time as those who are asking about his whereabouts from their
holiday hideouts.”

Last year the 88 year old travelled to the Far East
more than eight times. According to a leaked 2008 US diplomatic cable,
central bank chief Gideon Gono told then-US ambassador James McGee that
Mugabe had prostate cancer and had been advised by doctors he had less than
five years to live.

Mugabe's lieutenants
told Radio VOP on Tuesday that President Mugabe was due home on Wednesday
and several Zanu (PF) members were expected to line up at the airport to
meet him.

His party Secretary for Administration Didymus Mutasa said:
“That is not new to us, how many times have you heard that the president is
very sick? As far as I know he will be in the country and on Thursday he
will be chairing the cabinet.”

Shamu told Radio VOP on Tuesday the
President was alive and well.

“Why do you want to be told about your
President by those foreign newspapers? It is not true and absolutely false
that he is sick. He is alive. It is just speculation by those who wish him
dead,” Shamu to Radio VOP.

Party spokesman Rugare Gumbo said: “These
reports are the works of our detractors. They want to set us up against each
other; the President is well and alive. We are expecting him back in the
country tomorrow or the day after. He will be chairing a cabinet meeting on
Thursday so we don’t know where these people are getting these
reports.”

Meanwhile Shamu ordered journalists from NewsDay and the Daily
News to his office at 11 am on Wednesday and gave them a dressing
down.

“He was fuming,” said one of the editors who attended the
meeting.

“During our presence he called Tafataona Mahoso (chief executive
officer of the Zimbabwe Media Commission) and summoned him to a meeting at
11:30 am.

“He told him it was high time they should start acting on
errant journalists.”

On Tuesday, the international media was awash
with stories that Mugabe was battling for his life at a Singapore
hospital.

The story was triggered by a story carried by the UK based
Zimbabwe Mail website, which quoted unnamed Zanu (PF) officials.

The
website claimed Mugabe had reached an agreement to transfer power to Defence
Minister Emerson Mnangagwa.

The mainstream MDC party has complained that
Mugabe’s continued absence is derailing government business. The party has
demanded that Mugabe should come out clean on the status of his health and
stop holding the country to ransom.

Gumbo hit back saying Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai also once missed cabinet meetings after he got
injured while playing golf.“Why should we always make it a case whenever the
president is away, no one said anything when Tsvangirai was injured from
what we hear was a golf match, please let's not concentrate on trivial
issues,” said Gumbo.

Three
Whites Lose Farm To Mahofa

Roy Chikara in Masvingo Masvingo, April
11, 2012 - Three white farmers here have been ordered to vacate their 5 526
hectare conservancy to pave way for former deputy Minister for Gender and
Youth, Shuvai Ben Mahofa.

Magistrate Jabulani Muzinyati last week ordered
Terry Andres, John Taylor and Grant Hudson to surrender the property to
Mahofa who should take occupation until 2033.

Mahofa a former
legislator for Gutu south had been in a bruising court battle for the Savuli
Conservancy for the past four years.

She grabbed the conservancy under
the controversial land reform programme when she and former Bikita west Zanu
(PF)legislator, Retired Colonel Claudius Makova got an offer letter in 2007
to occupy the land.

Muzinyathi also dismissed the appeal by the three
white farmers with costs. They were represented by Wadzanai Chirongoma of
Chihambakwe, Makonese and Ncube law firm.

In their appeal, the three
white conservatists had argued that an earlier ruling had been made without
taking into account all the submissions that had been made and that Mahofa
had not paid them compensation for the property.

In his ruling
Muzinyati wrote “The respondents, jointly and severally, including all those
who claim occupation of Savuli Conservancy, through them, be and are hereby
ordered to vacate the conservancy upon service of this order.

“The
messenger of court is authorised to use reasonable force against all
respondents if any of them try to resist eviction. The respondents should
pay the applicant’s legal costs and are also ordered not to vandalise any
infrastructure in the conservancy.”

Last year other white farmers
Digby Nesbit and Ronnie Sparow from Chiredzi and Masvingo respectively lost
similar properties to Zanu (PF) big wigs in the province.

12 Burnt To
Death In Road Accident

By Vusisizwe Mkhwananzi West Nicholson, April
10, 2012 – Twelve people including a pregnant woman and a toddler were burnt
beyond recognition at the 170 km peg along the Bulawayo – Beit Bridge
highway when a Volvo haulage truck collided head on with a South African
registered Toyota Hilux on Monday night.

The accident exposed the
unpreparedness of the Civil Protection Unit as the fire continued blazing by
Tuesday afternoon while remains of the deceased were only retrieved by
midday Tuesday.

Gwanda is currently operating without a fire tender while
the only trained fire fighter passed away last week.

Police officers
had to endure the agony of watching over the charred remains overnight until
the fire subsided Tuesday morning.

“It is unfortunate that such things
happen and the CPU is unprepared, however we hope they are learning from
such mistakes”, said Provincial Governor Angeline Masuku.

All the
deceased were in the Toyota Hilux and were travelling back to South Africa
having been home for the Easter holiday.

“The driver of the Toyota Hilux
is suspected to have fallen asleep before encroaching into the lane of the
oncoming haulage truck resulting in a head on collision with the Toyota
Hilux being dragged for almost 30 metres” , said Police Spokesperson
Sergeant Loveness Mangena.

The accident comes hardly two weeks following
the death of fifteen people in a bus accident in Nyanga.

Vice
President Mujuru's Name Used To Swindle Farmers

By Vusisizwe
Mkhwananzi Collen Bawn, April 11, 2012 – Seven men and a woman who purported
to be spearheading Vice President Joice Mujuru’s chicken project conned
chicken farmers USD 2000 by selling them day old chicks.

Most of the
broiler chicks have since died while those that had survived had stunted
growth.

“We really did not suspect that we were being duped especially
after they told us this was a Presidential project," said Nomathemba Moyo.
"But we realised we had been robbed the next day when the chicks started
dying. The suppliers’ mobile number has been out of reach ever
since.”

Under the project farmers would buy chicks and have fowl runs and
feed supplied to them free of charge for four weeks before reselling them to
the supplier at USD 4 each.

The suppliers had provided feed
sufficient for a single day and had promised to return the next day with
more feed and movable fowl runs.

While the farmers have reported the
matter to the police nothing has been done with police alleging they had
little information to act on.

“None of the farmers got the names of these
people or their identification particulars. All their phone numbers are out
of reach and in such a situation our hands are tight,” said a police officer
stationed at Collen Bawn.

There is a shortage of day old chicks in
Zimbabwe, resulting in imports from South Africa and Mozambique to meet
demand.

Kasukuwere’s
indigenisation damaging Zimbabwe

Pronouncements by the Minister of Indigenization and Youth
Empowerment that the state now considered it owned 51 percent of mines that
have not complied with local ownership laws ‘are very damaging to the image
of the country.’

Economic analyst Luke Zunga said Kasukuwere’s statements
confuse and concern investors: ‘Add to that he’s also calling himself
Hitler. Who would surely want to put their money in a country administered
by maniacs calling themselves Hitler of our time,’ Zunga said.

The
analyst was referring to a statement made by Kasukuwere to Newsday in which
he told the independent daily paper he was seeking justice for people and a
restoration of their rights over the country’s resources, adding: ‘If that
is Hitler, let me be a Hitler tenfold.’

Kasukuwere placed a public notice
headed by Zimbabwe’s coat of arms, in the country’s state controlled
newspapers on 5th April. It stated that all mining companies who had not
complied with the government’s indigenisation policies should note that 51%
of their shareholding was now owned by the state.

Just hours later
this was described as ‘unlawful’ by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who
said it is not government policy to nationalize companies. Tsvangirai’s
spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka went on to add that the government had not
sanctioned the minister’s actions.

‘The Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment Act does not empower the Minister to unilaterally nationalise
private entities and there is no reason to create panic among investors by
projecting the image of a voracious government keen to grab compulsorily
people’s companies without compensation.’

According to Bill Watch,
which monitors Parliamentary and Legal Affairs, the Prime Minister’s use of
the word unlawful is correct. The Parliamentary watchdog said Kasukuwere’s
pronouncements are ‘ultra vires’ (beyond the legal power or authority of
Kasukuwere) and devoid of legal effect.

‘The Government cannot take over
mining businesses without proper legal authority and there is no such legal
authority – either in the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act or in
any other Act of Parliament, or in the Indigenisation Regulations or in
General Notice 114 of 201,’ Bill Watch said in a statement.

Zunga
warned Kasukuwere to be careful with what he says: ‘He should not take
investors for granted. These people are quick to move their money around
such that by the time he finishes closing his mouth, some money will have
already moved out of the country, whether he likes it or not.’

‘His
pronouncements on indigenisation can be likened to a process of
disinvestment. He’s doing so much damage to the country in terms of
attracting investors. What we need now are jobs, foreign currency reserves
from investors, but what we are getting is exactly the
opposite.

‘Government should speak with one voice in crucial areas like
investment and indigenisation because at the end of the day, the country
suffers a lot from these bad policies,’ Zunga said.

Judge
reserves judgement as Glen View murder case drags on

Hundreds of MDC-T supporters, friends and
family members of the 29 MDC-T members accused of murdering a Glen View
policeman last year, were shocked as Justice Bhunu reserved judgement on
their bail appeal on Wednesday.

The group were seeking permission to
appeal to the Supreme Court for their bail consideration, which has dragged
on without a decision in the lower courts, with some of the activists now
having served a year in remand. But Justice Chinembiri Bhunu declined,
saying he would give a ruling in writing.

The case has been postponed
eight times since it started last month and Defence lawyers wrapped up their
submissions before Justice Bhunu two weeks ago. The state has denied bail
for the group claiming that they are flight risks since their trial is
pending.

Among those jailed for the alleged murder of officer Petros
Mutedza is the MDC-T Youth Assembly Chairperson Solomon Madzore, whose
supporters crammed into the court Wednesday.

The angry Youth Assembly
spokesperson, Clifford Hlatywayo, immediately lashed out at the decision. In
a statement he said: “It looks like our courts are operating like marshal
courts. This behavior is unexpected, unprofessional and above all anti
people.”

Hlatywayo told SW Radio Africa that both the arrest and
detention of the Glen View activists are political and illegal, because
there is no evidence against any of them. There are also no witnesses
linking them to the murder and no justification for this long
incarceration.

Asked why they were targeted, Hlatywayo said it was ZANU
PF’s “election strategy” to destroy the MDC-T ahead of polls expected in the
country.“People know this is an election strategy to decapitate us by
arresting and intimidating our supporters. They want to divert our focus to
visiting people in jail and in court rather than the real issue,” Hlatywayo
explained.

He said the group of 29 included party officials and
members from Glen View, Mufakose, Budiriro and Chitungwiza. The state
insists the MDC members murdered officer Petros Mutedza in a Glen View pub
last year. But the MDC-T say the cop was killed during a fight with drunken
revelers.

More
delays as COPAC committee fails to resolve contentious issues

The three parties in the inclusive
government were on Tuesday deadlocked on the outstanding issues in the
constitution-making process, presenting yet another setback in preparations
for fresh elections.

According to reports the MDC-T secretary-general
Tendai Biti said the six-member COPAC Management Committee failed to agree
on the devolution of power, the Executive structure and dual citizenship at
the crucial Tuesday meeting.

Biti reportedly explained that they had
also differed on the number of vice presidents the country should have and
on the ways an individual could lose their citizenship. Unresolved issues
mean a delay in presenting a draft of the constitution to the three
principals.

The problematic issues must now be referred to the principals
who need to reach agreement on these contentious issues, before the
Management Committee meets again. The committee members from the three
parties are Biti and Elton Mangoma of the MDC-T, ZANU PF’s Patrick Chinamasa
and Nicholas Goche and MDC-N’s Moses Mzila-Ndlovu and Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga.

Madock Chivasa from the National Constitutional
Assembly (NCA) criticized the methods used in the constitutional process and
the committees responsible for it, saying it is “contrary” to what the NCA
advocates.

“We believe that it cannot be the duty of those in power to
try and lead the process to come up with the laws that are used by those in
power,” Chivasa explained, adding that the current process is being led by
members of parliament and senators, who have their own political
agendas.

“We believe an independent commission comprised of different
groups representing different views should be tasked with asking people what
they really want in the constitution,” Chivasa said.

The activist
explained that the proper method to draft a “people’s constitution” is to
include all the views expressed in the outreach stages, then allow the
majority view to stand out through a referendum.

“We are shocked when
they say that they are deadlocked. The assumption is that they know what all
the other groups want, what the women want, and what youth groups want,” the
NCA spokesperson said.

Chivasa told SW Radio Africa that the NCA will
embark on “a massive campaign” to discourage Zimbabweans from voting in the
referendum, whenever the COPAC draft is completed.

With ZANU PF
pushing for elections this year, with or without a new constitution, only
time will tell whether the MDC formations will be forced to give in and join
them or boycott these early elections.

The constitutional process is
already nearly two years behind schedule.

War of Words Intensifies Over Zimbabwe's New Constitution

The war of words between Zimbabwe's former
information minister Jonathan Moyo and the select committee responsible for
writing the country's new charter intensified Tuesday with co-chairman
Douglas Mwonzora revealing his committee wants the acerbic Moyo tried for
contempt of parliament for continuously attacking the constitution-making
process.

Mwonzora of the Morgan Tsvangirai Movement for Democratic Change
formation told the VOA Moyo, a ZANU-PF politburo member, has gone too far
and needs to have his wings clipped.

Writing in the state-controlled
Sunday Mail this week, Moyo attacked the constitution making process and the
select committee saying it has been hijacked by the “mafia that has become
desperate and is now resorting to fallacies, to secure its floundering
regime change or succession interests.”

Moyo, a lawmaker, has been
critical of the parliamentary committee tasked to write the new charter and
his critics say he's one of the hawks in President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF
party pushing for elections this year even in the absence of reforms or a
new constitution.

Moyo is also being criticized by colleagues in his own
party who think he's overstepping his mark. Select committee co-chairman
Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana of ZANU-PF was quoted by the independent Daily News
Tuesday saying he's confused as to what Moyo’s real motives
are.

Mangwana said Moyo was “behaving worse than National Constitution
Assembly chairman Lovemore Madhuku” whose organization has openly denounced
the process. The NCA has long criticized the current constitutional writing
process saying it will not produce a document driven by politicians and not
the ordinary people.

Madhuku told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri the
select committee, however disgusted it can be by Moyo’s criticism, has no
power to have the lawmaker tried by parliament.

Deputy
Transport Minister Mudzingwa Dies

Harare, April 11, 2012 - Deputy
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development and former secretary of
defence in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic
Change, Tichaona Mudzingwa has died, the party announced
Wednesday.

"The MDC has learnt with shock and sadness over the death of
Senator Tichaona Mudzingwa, the Deputy Minister of Transport and
Infrastructural Development. He was 69," the MDC said in a
statement.

Dr Mudzingwa, who was born on December 23, 1942 died at the
privately owned Avenues Clinic last night after a short
illness.

Mudzingwa, Zimbabwe’s first specialist war surgeon was in March
2009 nominated by Tsvangirai to be a non-consistency senator and in the same
month was appointed the Deputy Minister for Transport and Infrastructural
Development.

"He started his political career in January 1960 when he
joined the National Democratic Party’s Youth Wing, while learning at
Fletcher High in Gweru. He is a former member of Zanu (PF) and ZAPU and
underwent military training as a guerrilla fighter in Tanzania, Mozambique
and Zambia," the MDC said.

"Senator Mudzingwa is a war veteran and during
the liberation war was a member of the Military High Command from 1975 to
1980. He is the first medical doctor to receive full military training and
to be deployed to the military front in Zambia and Mozambique from 1975 to
1980 when Zimbabwe attained its independence."

Dr Mudzingwa served in
the Zimbabwe National Army, he was retired army Colonel, and he served in
the army from 1980 to 1994. He was commander of the Zimbabwe Medical Corps
and was awarded several medals for his service in the army, the MDC
said.

He was a founding member of the MDC. From 2000 to 2006, he was the
MDC’s Secretary for Health and Security. In 2005, he was the MDC candidate
for Buhera North constituency in the Parliamentary election.

He died
still practising as a medical doctor. Burial arrangements will be announced
in due course.

Media Commission Seeks Gov't Assistance to Ban Foreign
Publications

The Zimbabwe Media Commission has approached the
information ministry and other government departments to help facilitate the
banning of foreign publications it says have failed to register to continue
operating in the country.

Information secretary George Charamba told
the state-controlled Herald newspaper the ZMC had notified his office of its
decision to have the publications, among them the United Kingdom-based
Zimbabwean, and South African newspapers The Sunday Times and the Mail and
Guardian, banned for failing to regularize their operations in
Zimbabwe

He said the commission sought his ministry's advice since it can
only enforce the law through the assistance of relevant government
ministries.

The commission is also seeking support from the finance and
home affairs ministries to help stop the papers from circulating in the
country, accusing the foreign newspapers for continuing to sell in the
country without following a 2010 directive to register with the
commission.

Under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act, all foreign publications must set up local bureaux for distribution
purposes.

Said Charamba: “The Zimbabwe Media Commission Board chairman
has since written a letter to the Minister of Media, Information and
Publicity Webster Shamu to fully advise him on their resolution to stop the
circulation of foreign publications who were failing to comply with the
law."

“We expect this to be implemented any time soon since the ZMC board
is constitutionally formulated.These foreign publications are being
extremely irresponsible as corporate citizens."

Exiled publisher Wilf
Mbanga told VOA that due to pressure to remain circulating his Zimbabwean
newspaper in the country, he has applied for a publishing
license.

“We have now set up a Trust inside Zimbabwe and we have applied
to publish from Zimbabwean soil and print from Harare,” said Mbanga. “We
didn’t have a choice. They were either going to close us down because we
hadn’t applied or we could apply and continue to exist. So we really didn’t
have an option.”

But Mbanga said he was not going to Zimbabwe because
“there is still a warrant for my arrest and until that is sorted I won’t
even consider going back.”

Andrew Moyse director of the Media
Monitoring Project said the move is meant to stifle the foreign press in the
country.

"The law had not envisaged this situation arising and they are
having trouble trying to find the clause that will allow them to shut down
these newspapers," said Moyse "It's not that they must comply with the law,
I don't think the law is there."

"There's been a
great deal of uncertainty over the last 2.5 years and many suggestions that
Mugabe is on his last legs. So we take this with the usual pinch of salt. It
may well be he's very ill; it may well be he's not," he said.

"But I
think our role is to look beyond that as to whoever is in charge there, how
do we get this country back on its feet?

"It was once the bread basket of
Africa, it had the greatest education system, good health; all of that
totally collapsed, the country is in dire need of assistance."

The
United Nations says 1.5 million Zimbabweans need food aid.

Dr Gillespie
says UNICEF and Aus-Aid have a $33 million partnership in Zimbabwe to
improve water, sanitation, agriculture and education.

"Australian aid
programs and working with NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) like UNICEF
are making an enormous difference," he said.

"They're taking a very smart
approach to this to help start building from the ground up those services
which have been decimated. The water doesn't work, the electricity goes
off."

He says water and agriculture are the biggest problem
areas.

"The crops have been decimated, there's very little left to
export; there's some tobacco, there's some cotton. Really that's got to be
built from the bottom up as well. But I do come back to the basic
infrastructure is what is missing," he said.

"If there is no water
system, there is no way of actually getting that back on its
feet."

Dr Gillespie says Mr Mugabe's ZANU-PF party has been more open to
working with aid groups and NGOs but more needs to be done.

"This
country will come back, Zimbabwe will come back to a great economy because
their people are so resilient," he said.

WOZA
teams up with key Egypt activist for seminar

Zimbabwe pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) on Wednesday
teamed up with a key Egyptian activist in the UK for a seminar on human
rights and the power of the public.

Jenni Williams, the WOZA
coordinator, was set to address the seminar in Coventry alongside Sherif
Joseph Rizk, whose work helped lay the foundations of the Arab Spring
uprising in Egypt last year. Rizk was due to talk about his part in the
occupation of Tahir Square in Cairo.

Williams meanwhile was set to talk
about her campaign to improve social and political rights for women in
Zimbabwe.

Williams recently scooped the coveted Ginetta Sagan Amnesty
International USA award in recognition of her efforts to protect the liberty
and lives of women and children. She is the second Zimbabwean woman to
receive the award in four years, after Girl Child Network founder Betty
Makoni won it in 2008.

Since 2003 Williams has led peaceful protests
involving thousands of women and men, who have all endured harassment,
arrests and violence for demanding social and political reforms in Robert
Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.

WOZA also encourages women and men to speak out about
issues they may be too fearful to raise alone, including domestic violence
and rape.

Parliament
urged to do more to protect Zim conservancies

Zimbabwe’s parliament has been urged to step in and prevent
the continued destruction of the country’s conservation areas, which have
been targeted by illegal settlers.

The Chiredzi River Conservancy and
the Save Valley Conservancy have been worst hit, with thousands of people
moving in and attempting to clear land for crops. The result has been the
killing of thousands of animals meant to be under protection in the areas,
including hundreds of elephant and rhino.

A recent report by the
Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources, Environment and Tourism
identified Higher Education Minister Stan Mudenge and several top military
and political figures as the individuals behind the destruction of Save
Valley Conservancy.

The report says the forced seizure of the conservancy
by top political and military figures with “no interest (or) experience in
wildlife conservation” had resulted in massive destruction of the
conservancy.

“Save Valley conservancy had ceased to exist in its original
form: there is extensive habitat destruction, large scale fence destruction
and rampant poaching of animals, especially the rhino whose numbers were
said to be fast dwindling,” the report said.

The committee also said
that under the country’s land reforms, conservancies were supposed to be
restricted to indigenous ‘investors’ with demonstrable “interest and
experience in wildlife conservation (as well as the) capacity for business
development and ability to contribute to the asset base.”

But Johnny
Rodrigues, the chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF),
explained that these ‘investors’ know nothing about conservation and the
destruction has therefore been allowed to continue unchecked.

Rodrigues agreed, explaining that the allocation was a
“token of appreciation for supporting the regime.”

Despite this
damning report on the situation at Save Valley, there has been no action
from Parliament. Rodrigues said that there needs to be more action from
Parliamentarians to enforce the laws that are in place to protect areas like
Save Valley.

“The problem is that it is the animals that are paying the
price and just this weekend we lost two more rhino in the area. There are a
lot of high up people involved and all the care about is greed. They are
stealing from future generations,” Rodrigues said.

Mutharika:
Mugabe's party accuses prophet of conspiracy

A senior
official of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF on Wednesday launched
an astonishing attack on Nigerian evangelist Temitope Balogun (TB) Joshua
accusing him of playing a role in the death of Malawian President Bingu wa
Mutharika.

Professor Mutharika succumbed to cardiac arrest last Thursday
after the popular evangelist in February prophesised the death of a southern
African leader.

The prophet gave his congregation of the Synagogue
Church of All Nations last Sunday the day and date of the death.TB
Joshua’s prophecy created anxiety in Zimbabwe with a private newspaper
running a series of stories suggesting it was targeted at President Robert
Mugabe.

But Professor Jonathan Moyo, an MP and member of President
Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party’s top decision making body – politburo - told
state owned media Prof Mutharika was killed by his enemies who used TB
Joshua.He claimed the death of the Malawian leader was as a result of an
intelligence operation and TB Joshua was used to divert attention from the
mission.

“TB Joshua’s involvement in this tragedy smacks more of a
plot than a prophecy.

“One thing for sure is that there is no
prophecy here but just a prediction if one is to give him a benefit of
doubt,” Prof Moyo claimed.

“This leaves open the questions as to what
happened because to neutral people there appears to be more to the saga than
meets the eye.

“In some circles there is even spirited speculation that
TB Joshua had privileged intelligence information about a death plot against
President wa Mutharika and the plotters used him as their microphone to
divert attention and let the death appear like it was an act of God when it
was an intelligence operation.”

He said the precise prediction showed
that TB Joshua had medical information and “not from God.”

“It’s
possible to medically induce a cardiac arrest no wonder why his death was
first leaked by his doctors.“If you start seeing people making such
prophecies it shows that the world is coming to an end as said in 2 Timothy
3 verses 1-5 about false prophets.

“I have no doubt in my mind that TB
Joshua is a false prophet.”

On Sunday, TB Joshua told a church service
that the Malawian leader was aware the prophecy referred to him.He
claimed Prof Mutharika had written to him about the prediction.

The
government controlled Herald newspaper also quoted a church leader with
close links to Zanu PF accusing the private media of dragging President
Mugabe’s name into the prophecy.

“There is nothing wrong with TB
Joshua’s prophecy because the intention was for the church to pray about it
so that it could not happen or that there would be no crisis,” said Reverend
Obadiah Musindo.

“It is unfortunate that the private media here hijacked
the prophecy to suit their regime change agenda when they tried to claim it
on President Mugabe.”

Mangoma
imperils US$600m ethanol project

ENERGY Minister, Elton Mangoma has ruled out mandatory
blending of petrol and ethanol in a development that leaves the US$600
million Green Fuels ethanol project in the lurch and likely imperils some
5000 direct jobs the company has created.

Green Fuels is holding onto
10 million litres of product and has stopped ethanol production at its
Chisumbanje plant after running of storage space leaving thousands of
workers at risk of losing their jobs and adversely impacting farmers who
supply cane to the mill.

But Mangoma said the company was free to export
its ethanol if it was struggling to sell the product locally.“They are
already licensed; they are free to export their product,” Mangoma told the
Herald newspaper.

However, in a statement to NewZimbabwe.com, Green Fuels
said the “option to export remains open to us and it’s a route we are
exploring” but added that Mangoma needed to understand that the product
would simply be imported back into Zimbabwe at a higher
cost.

“Ethanol is in demand in South Africa (where mandatory blending is
in place) and other regional countries due to the high fuel prices,” the
company said.

“However, the morally disturbing fact is that exporting
ethanol would be imported back at a cost to the Zimbabwean consumer. In all
likelihood, this country would re-import ethanol blends from South Africa,
as unleaded petrol, therefore buying back a locally produced product at a
premium price.”

Market uptake of the company’s E10 fuel (a 10-90
ethanol and petrol blend) remains limited with motorists concerned about its
pricing and possible adverse impact on their vehicles while service stations
do not have the infrastructure to store the product.

Green Fuels has
been lobbying the government to introduce mandatory blending with company
officials insisting the policy, backed by higher blending ratios would help
lower prices as well as significantly reduce the country’s fuel import
bill.

But Mangoma categorically ruled out the policy, insisting the State
could not be seen to be legislation for an “individual”.“We cannot have
legislation for individuals, because that would set a bad precedent,” he
said.

“We have already licensed them (Green Fuels), they are already on
the market selling their fuel. I have not followed to see the volume which
they are selling. Let’s not create a problem which is not
there.”

Green Fuels said it was not correct that mandatory blending would
benefit “one individual” as suggested by Mangoma adding the company was in
fact a joint venture between two private companies and the government
through the ARDA.

“This is a National Project, spearheaded by
Zimbabweans for fellow Zimbabweans.

We believe that if the minister
were to visit the project he will be able to see the benefits it has brought
to the community, and potential to benefit the country,” the company
said.

“There are a further two ethanol producers in the country, who are
exporting their entire product because of an unfavourable policy environment
and they have been following our story with hope that a mandatory blending
policy would be something that would be of benefit to them as
well.

“That Minister Mangoma can reduce this proposed law to “something
benefiting) one person is a very disturbing development and clearly
indicative of a position based on a lack of appreciation of the massive work
being undertaken by Zimbabweans on the ground.“We continue to hope that
a site visit will rectify Minister’s misconceptions.”

Zimbabwe
considers waste-to-energy plants

The Harare City
Council in Zimbabwe is in talks with a local gas company, considering a
joint venture to enable electricity to be generated from waste collected
from nearby sewage works.

About $3 million (€2.28 million) will be needed
to fund the project, which will take a year and a half to build.

One
plant, called Firle, is expected to produce 2.5MW whilst the other,
Crowborough, should generate 0.6MW.

However, the Firle sewage works
was investigated last month and deemed unsafe as it was discovered its
workers were not wearing adequate clothing to deal with the waste and were
at risk of disease. It was also criticised for only treating half of all the
waste that was sent to the sewage site.

However, if the proposed
development does go ahead, anaerobic digesters will be used to turn the
waste into power, and it is thought this is just the beginning of the
council’s plans for a more energy efficient capital.

The council is also
in talk with the Infinate Energy Zimbabwe company to take biogas from the
Golden Quarry and Pomona landfills that are situated close to the capital.

Implats
may set up Zimbabwe refinery

PLATINUM producer, Zimplats is reported to have agreed to set up
a refinery in Zimbabwe as pressure mounts on platinum producers to
beneficiate minerals inside the country.

Zimplats deputy chairman
Muchadeyi Masunda said the company had committed to setting up a refinery in
Zimbabwe. "Despite all that has happened … the smelter and refinery project
is on course."

Current production levels are considered too low to
sustain a refinery. The platinum output of the top platinum producers in
Zimbabwe is below 500000oz.

However, Zimplats has revealed that it
intends to ramp up its output to 270000oz from 180000oz after the successful
implementation of its phase two expansion project.

Mimosa, jointly
run by Implats and Aquarius Platinum, on the other hand, is planning to
double its production to 200000oz a year from 100000oz.

Masunda said
Zimplats "initially set aside $500m for the beneficiation project" and was
assessing "the kind of infrastructure required" for the refinery.

He
said it was necessary for Zimplats to "be assured of adequate stockfeed
going forward".Zimbabwe’s decision to push the beneficiation of raw
materials is based on job preservation and creation.

However, Amplats
CEO Neville Nicolau has previously said platinum miners could look at
setting up an "industry refinery" in Zimbabwe in about five
years.

Zimbabwean analysts emphasised that Zimplats would require
about $2bn to set up the refinery, which "would be difficult under current
conditions" that are fraught with legislative hurdles.Others said,
however, that Zimplats could agree to set up the refinery under phase three
of its expansion project.

This comes as Zimbabwean officials said last
week that the government was looking into complaints by the mining industry
that ground rentals, fees and taxes would curtail production and drastically
reduce profitability.

"The ministry is presently reviewing the impact of
these fees on the mining sector," mines ministry permanent secretary Prince
Mupazviriho was quoted saying.

Zimbabwe hiked pre-exploration fees
for most minerals by as much as 8000% in January, while registration charges
for platinum and diamond claims rose to $2,5m and $5m, respectively.

SA
remittances to Zimbabwe among costliest, report finds

The cost of sending
remittances from SA to Zimbabwe is among the highest in the
worldBEKEZELA PHAKATHIPublished: 2012/04/11 08:34:20 AM

CAPE TOWN
— The cost of sending remittances from SA to Zimbabwe is among the highest
in the world, research by the lobby group People Against Suffering,
Oppression and Poverty (Passop) has found.

The report, due to be
officially released today, found that 91% of Zimbabwean migrants in SA send
money home regularly. Given that an estimated 2-million Zimbabweans have
emigrated to SA over the past 10 years, the report estimates that close to
R7bn was remitted last year, making remittances one of the most important
sources of foreign currency inflows for Zimbabwe.

The report
established that the average cost of sending money to the country was
between 12% and 15% of the total amount remitted. The costs in comparable
corridors, such as Mexico and the US, are much lower, at between 3% and
5%.

Passop programme co-ordinator David von Burgsdorff said yesterday
that the high cost of sending remittances could be ascribed to a number of
factors, including stringent foreign exchange regulations in SA and the
monopoly the "big banks" had.

"The monopoly that the big banks have
mean that they can keep the prices high. Also the service providers such as
MoneyGram have to be linked to these banks, which will keep the prices
high," Mr von Burgsdorff said.

The report also found that roughly three
quarters of migrants prefer using informal channels such as bus drivers and
friends to remit money, rather than the banks and money transfer operators,
despite the lack of reliability and inefficiency of informal
channels.

Mr von Burgsdorff also said that it was in the interests of the
South African government to facilitate the formalisation of remittance
flows. "Rather than increasing the volume of flows, the effect would be to
make flows more transparent and to increase the liquidity and efficiency of
the financial sector in SA," Mr von Burgsdorff said.

"Thus,
remittances from SA to Zimbabwe represent a huge source of untapped
potential for development on both sides of the border that is currently
being mitigated by high transfer costs and impeded by stringent and
inefficient regulations".

Mr von Burgsdorff said that if the
formalisation of remittance flows was pursued comprehensively, remittances
could realise their potential and play an invaluable role in the
reconstruction of the Zimbabwean economy.

"This, in turn, is the only way
to address the currently high level of Zimbabwean migration to
SA".

Chief economist at Pan-African Capital, Iraj Abedian said yesterday
that the high cost of remittances was another example of bank charges in SA
being "excessively" high.

"It is a known fact that bank charges in SA
are excessive," Mr Abedian said.

Imprisoned youths open to abuse

Zimbabwe is
said to be witnessing an increase in juvenile offenders, although official
statistics are not available

HARARE, 11 April 2012
(IRIN) - Simon Dube*, 15, has just been released from a Zimbabwean jail after
serving a three-month sentence for theft. After his arrest he was detained for
two days in a holding cell in Harare, where he alleged police assaulted him to
extract a confession that he stole goods from his neighbour’s home.

Dube’s mother, who declined to be identified, told IRIN that after her
son’s return from jail he had become withdrawn, has frequent temper tantrums, as
well as a persistent cough and symptoms of scurvy.

“He suffers frequent
nightmares and often wakes up crying. He doesn’t tell us much about his
experiences in jail but it is easy to see that he went through a tough time,”
she said.

Dube was remanded in custody for seven weeks prior to his
trial.

Dzimbabwe Chimbga, programme manager of local NGO Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), said juveniles were jailed for numerous crimes,
including armed robbery, theft, fraud, rape and murder, but his organization was
“alarmed that the minors are lumped up with hard core criminals in cramped
conditions” while awaiting trial, sometimes for six months.

“Zimbabwe
has no policy of separating the juveniles, whether they are awaiting trial or
have been convicted, and this trend is pervasive throughout the country. It is a
fundamental human rights violation as it subjects them to sexual, physical,
psychological and emotional abuse, not to mention the fact that the health and
food situations are horrible,” he said.

Chimbga said ZLHR had received
an acknowledgment from the Justice Ministry that there was a need to establish a
detention facility specifically for juvenile offenders.

“Existing
infrastructure in our prisons is not conducive for juveniles and female
prisoners with children,” said prisons commissioner Paradzai Zimondi during a
tour of prisons in 2010.

It is now generally
accepted that young people commit offences due to the harsh socio-economic
circumstances that are currently prevailing

Official figures on juveniles serving jail terms are not
available.

Struggling to survive

“While we
have not carried out a survey to ascertain the trend of juvenile crime, I would
not quarrel with the fact that Zimbabwe is currently grappling with one of the
highest unemployment rates, and many families are struggling to generate income,
a situation that is driving children to fend for themselves and family members
through criminal activities,” said Chimbga.

Caleb Mutandwa, programmes
director of the local NGO Justice for Children Trust (JCT), told IRIN: “There
has been an increase in juvenile crimes as seen by the number of cases we
receive. It is now generally accepted that young people commit offences due to
the harsh socio-economic circumstances that are currently prevailing.”

Mutandwa said his organization was piloting a programme called the
“pre-trial diversion programme”, to assist in the rehabilitation of young
offenders, but it was currently only available to youths who had not committed
serious offences.

The aim, he said, was to “provide offenders with the
opportunity to re-think their lives without going through the stigmatizing and
unnerving criminal justice system.” The programme included counselling,
voluntary compensation for their victims and meetings with them, as well as
cautions by the police and influential community members.

*Not his real
name

[This report
does not necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations]

Blood Diamonds on the British High Street, New Visualisation
Launched to Raise Awareness

Ingle and
Rhode, London jewellers with a commitment to ethical diamond-sourcing, have
launched a new infographic to communicate with consumers why a diamond
certified through the Kimberley Process does not guarantee it is
conflict-free.

The infographic draws attention to the fact that while the
Kimberley agreement aims to guarantee the diamonds certified under the
process do not help finance rebel armies, it does however allow the funding
of oppressive governments which use diamond wealth to tyrannise their own
people.

Tim Ingle from Ingle and Rhode explains, "The Kimberley Process
only addresses diamonds produced in areas controlled by rebel militias. It
doesn't take into consideration violence committed by government
forces.

"It is important that consumers are aware that the Kimberley
Process does not guarantee that a diamond is conflict-free. In order to know
whether a diamond has been ethically produced you need to be able to trace
it back to its source."

The graphic focuses on diamond production in
Zimbabwe, the seventh largest producer of diamonds in the world. The
graphic details the human rights abuses in the area and the amount of money
that is suspected of bypassing the national purse, going straight to the
president's allies. Since this conflict does not involve warring rebel
militias, the KPCS considers Zimbabwe diamonds to be
conflict-free.

To build this graphic, Ingle & Rhode presented data
about the increase in diamond production in Zimbabwe and looked at some of
the political ramifications of the increase in state revenue. Almost 60
million US dollars worth of diamond revenue is suspected of bypassing the
national treasury completely, going straight to president Robert Mugabe's
personal and political allies. It is feared much of the funds will
contribute to the continued repression of free-speech, state sponsored
violence and intimidation of political opponents of Mugabe's party, Zanu
PF.

The MDC Today – Issue No. 333

Wednesday, 11 April 2012

The MDC Chief of Staff, Abisha Nyanguwo was
yesterday arrested and detained at Gweru Central Police Station on false
charges of malicious damage to property.

Allegations by the police
against Nyanguwo are that, his vehicle was last year in December, seen in
Mvuma collecting explosives before going to Gweru where he planted the
explosives at the Zanu PF offices resulting in the offices blowing
up.

He is expected to appear at the Gweru Magistrates’ Courts
tomorrow.

On 22 March 2012 heavily armed police officers raided
Nyanguwo’s residence in Harare, claiming to search for weapons of war and
mass destruction before they impounded his Isuzu double cab truck alleging
that it was used to bomb the Zanu PF offices.

Early this year, police
in Gweru arrested three MDC members, Shepherd Marange, Douglas Tsuro and
Silas Mutendeudzwa on charges of bombing the Zanu PF offices but were
released later.

It has become obvious that whenever a crime is committed,
the police are quick to arrest MDC supporters without evidence that they
committed the offense.

The Party is worried by the partisan manner
police are conducting their duties and condemns the actions in the strongest
terms.

Dust
to dust: who’s next?

There was fear, expectation and trepidation
throughout Zimbabwe when the famous Nigerian prophet, TB Joshua, indicated
that an aged and ailing African head of state would die within 60 days.
Zambians thought that this would be the end of Michael
Sata.11.04.1208:38amby John Makumbe

Malawians thought the
reference was to their detested dictator, Bingu wa Mutharika. Zimbabweans
wished it would be the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, Robert
Mugabe. Angolans thought that this would be the end of their unpopular
socialist leader, Eduardo dos Santos. Well, now we know that the poor old
man referred to was none other than Bingu wa Mutharika of
Malawi.

Millions of Zimbabweans both inside and outside the country
were sorely disappointed, not because they loved wa Mutharika even a little
bit, but because they so detest their own dictator that they wished it had
been him.

The passing of wa Mutharika and the events following his demise
contain numerous lessons for all of us. First, we now realise the
significance of having a clear line of succession which is agreed and
acceptable to the people. The Malawian Constitution provides that should the
President be incapacitated in any way, the Vice President should take over
the reins of power. Wa Mutharika had, two years before he died, expelled Ms
Joyce Banda from the party, but he had not replaced her as Vice
President.

Some members of Mutharika’s party tried to prevent her from
taking up the mantle arguing that she no longer was a member of the departed
President’s party. Fortunately for her, good sense and constitutionalism
prevailed, and she was sworn in as Malawi’s President. Malawians must be
congratulated for being the first southern African country to be led by a
female President. Let us hope that the trend will continue and that Africa
will finally regard women as equally capable of leading their countries as
men are.

We have two Vice Presidents, but it is not clear which of them
will take over when Mugabe vacates office unceremoniously for any reason.
Should John Nkomo take over, it is likely to be argued that Zimbabweans
accepted him because he is a man. Should Joice Mujuru take over it is likely
to be viewed as aimed at sidelining the Ndebele people in favour of the
Zezuru or Shona people.

It is therefore important that our next
constitution, now in the making, should clearly spell out the succession
line to avoid political instability when sudden death or other forms of
incapacitation occur. We hear that wa Mutharika was grooming his own brother
to take over from him, but his sudden death scuttled the whole sordid
plan.

The third lesson we need to learn from events in Malawi is that
there is no one who is invincible. Death can visit anyone, whether President
or common citizen, at any time, and there is nothing anyone can do to
prevent their death if God’s time has arrived.

Those who pray that
they should live until they are 100 have now been adequately warned that
they might even struggle to reach 90. It is therefore time to set the house
in order, lest your legacy is trampled upon long before you are
interred.

Perhaps the last lesson we should learn from our neighbouring
president’s death is that excessive polarisation of the populace can easily
lead to serious levels of political destabilisation. Throughout Zimbabwe,
there was a lot of fear of what would happen to all of us should sudden
death visit our dear leader.

As things stand right now, there is very
likely to be considerable disagreement within Zanu (PF)regarding who should
take over. This is likely to manifest itself by way of assassinations,
arrests, disappearances and other evils. We should all work towards living
with each other in harmony regardless of our political allegiances. We do
not really know who is next, do we? What we know is that there will be many
other prophecies, and they will be accurate again.

Let's
not be too quick to mourn the passing of Mugabe

It's always a little
unbelievable when the possibility of the death of someone like Robert Mugabe
is raised. So long has he been around, and so brutally has he dominated
Zimbabwe's political life, that even though we might like to, it's hard to
imagine the world without him.

Nor is this seeming indestructibility
confined to the bad guys. Nelson Mandela is very frail, and even though a
series of rumours have given us the opportunity to get used to the idea of
his passing, it doesn't quite seem like it will ever be real. I fully expect
to be drawing my pension and find our own dear Queen is still sitting on the
throne, with perennial Prince Charles still looking peevish in the
background.

Normal people never seem so permanent. Perhaps it's because
they don't have the magic, indestructible dust of grand institutions and
historical events rubbing off on them in the same way – or perhaps it's
because they don't get such expensive healthcare.

As the Mugabe
rumours continue to fly, it occurs to me that the totemic importance that
such endings assume – their status as markers of new eras – is actually
terribly dangerous, whether we like the ailing statesman in question or
not.

Mugabe is a case in point. His death would be warmly greeted in many
quarters. But those who imagine a new era of peace and prosperity under
Morgan Tsvangirai should consider the fearsome rise of Emmerson Mnangagwa,
the Zanu-PF defence minister said to be Mugabe's preferred successor.
Mnangagwa, the man who masterminded the violence that opposition MDC
supporters faced during the last election, is very far from the beacon of
hope that the most appealing narrative of Mugabe's death would suggest
should come next.

Something similar is true in South Africa; Mandela
might remain the definitive reminder of how South Africa's changed, but it's
silly to imagine that his death will have more than a symbolic significance
to the future of the country. Even in this country, I suspect there are
those who imagine that the next royal succession will trigger some kind of
rebirth for the monarchy. It won't. Things will simply trundle
on.

Any theory of history that relies on the idea of decisive moments is
bound to be dangerous (see the invasion of Iraq, among other examples, a
nightmare of unintended consequences and unending engagement). Mugabe's
death might be an impending reality, or it might be an optimistic
invention.

But even if it is real, those who expect it to be
transformative will still be in the realms of fantasy.

Can Mugabe order elections like a take-away?

By Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 11 April 2012.

By pushing for ‘elections
without reforms now’ President Robert Mugabe may have realised his mistake
of leaving the succession issue up to the last minute.

Despite the
regime’s diversionary tactic of playing victim over the fallout from
Mugabe’s latest expensive visit to Singapore, the reasons for hurried polls
deserve a thorough interrogation. As the President, his actions are open to
public scrutiny.

Other than ageing and health woes, Mugabe’s agitation
for quick polls is arguably influenced by fear - the fear of a new
constitution which is likely to trim presidential powers; the fear of losing
a free and fair election and the fear of recriminations for the sins of the
past. But elections are not like ‘Singapore noodles’ which can be made to
order.

Constitutional experts have pointed out that under the present
heavily amended constitution which Mugabe now prefers for elections, the
Executive headed by the President has too much power that impinges on the
lives of ordinary people.

Although, the situation has changed
slightly since the GPA brought about the principle of consultation, Mugabe
still gets his way.

The Executive has power:

a. over the
Legislature e.g. the President has power to appoint members of the Senate
who include Provincial Governors and so summon, adjourn and dissolve
Parliamentb. over the Security Forces e.g. the President is the Commander
in Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forcesc. over the Judiciary – the
President appoints judgesd. to appoint Cabinet Ministers and Permanent
Secretariese. to appoint Ambassadors and members of constitutional
commissionsf. to declare war and make peace – the President can do
thatg. to exercise the prerogative of mercy – the Presidential
amnestyh. to confer honours and precedence e.g. to declare hero
status

The most notorious piece of legislation is the Presidential Powers
(Temporary Measures) Act (PPTM Act) which allows the President to make
regulations on virtually any subject, if he thinks urgent action is needed
in the general public interest.

The controversial act was authored by
the late justice minister, Eddison Zvobgo in 1986 when the late Canaan
Banana was a ceremonial President as a ‘stop-gap measure’ in urgent cases
and for 6 months (e.g. when Parliament was in recess).

However, since
Mugabe became an executive president, the Act has courted controversy
especially ahead of elections. For example, in 1995, Mugabe used
presidential powers to create positions of executive mayors because Zanu-pf
was losing political support in urban areas.

In 1997, he used the
same powers to ban industrial action after a spate of strikes. In December
2003, government altered land regulations to allow the State to compulsorily
acquire farm machinery and equipment from farms previously owned by white
land owners (see The Zimbabwe Standard, “Mugabe accused of abusing
presidential powers,” 24/02/04).

In 2008 Presidential Powers Statutory
Instrument no.46 of 2008 (Amendment of the Electoral Act) was criticised for
allowing police officers back into polling stations but most importantly
made incapacitated voters to vote in the presence of police
officers.

To critics, the 27 June 2008 presidential election was heavily
militarised and the resultant ballot was ‘more a barometer of people’s fears
than of people’s choices.' Presidential powers were criticised too. Little
had changed from previous polls.

To borrow from Professor Booysen,
“The Zanu-pf government of Zimbabwe in the period 1999-2002 used a complex
combination of constitutional-legal and paralegal-supralegal measures in
conducting elections and reclaiming liberation movement zeal” (Susan
Booysen, ‘The Dualities of Contemporary Zimbabwean Politics,’ African
Studies Quarterly, Africa.ufl.edu/asq/v7i2a1,htm).

The implications
for democracy are overwhelming considering what happened prior to and during
2008 - with all the violence, the emergence of a culture of impunity,
corruption, greed, looting, the selective application of the rule of law,
perverted justice and the violation of human rights.

Based on experience
and given the possibility of Mugabe using or abusing the Presidential Powers
(Temporary Measures) Act in a partisan manner in a future election, it makes
a lot of sense to control the powers of the Executive especially the
President (whoever gets elected), through key reforms
including:-

a. the amendment to the Electoral Act;b. getting
rid of alleged CIO operatives within the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission;c. amendment of the Presidential Powers (Temporary
Measures) Act;d. the restoration of the Diaspora Vote also called dual
citizenship for millions in exile;e. cleaning-up of the voters’ roll
said to have an estimated 2 million ghost voters;f. adoption of a new
democratic constitution in a peaceful referendum;g. reforming the
security sector by doing away with political partisanship (should emulate
the Malawi Defence Forces for example);h. enactment of a Human Rights
Commission Act with powers to investigate pre-2008 abuses;i.
restoration of public confidence in the judiciary e.g. being
non-partisan.

Any sham elections in Zimbabwe will definitely
destabilise the country and the region more than the 2008 presidential
run-off did, therefore people should reject them.